Local Rules Near SNA Airport

California AB 1346 phases out new sales of gas-powered leaf blowers, lawn mowers, and other small off-road engines starting 2024, pushing Santa Ana landscapers toward electric or battery-powered equipment.

Santa Ana Municipal Code § 5-59 declares a barking dog or other noisy animal a public nuisance if it disturbs the peace or interferes with anyone's enjoyment of life or property, with every day of the violation a separate offense. Enforcement runs through administrative citations issued by police-based enforcement officers after a sworn neighbor complaint.

Santa Ana exempts construction, repair, remodeling, and grading noise from its citywide sound limits, but only from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on weekdays, including Saturday. Run equipment outside that window, or at any time on Sunday or a federal holiday, and the exemption disappears, exposing the crew to a straight misdemeanor noise citation.

Santa Ana bars 'loud and raucous noise', sound amplified enough to be heard 50 feet from the device, on private property, public streets, sidewalks, and parks under Section 10-153. The City issues administrative citations with fines that climb from $100 to $1,000 for repeat police responses to the same location.

Santa Ana bans short-term and home-sharing rentals outright: Municipal Code Section 8-3401 makes it unlawful to rent, offer to rent, or even advertise a dwelling unit for less than 30 consecutive days, whether the owner lives on-site or not. There is no registration, license or permit process, the activity itself is illegal citywide under Article XXI, adopted April 2024.

Santa Ana's fire code official can require flammable vegetation and combustible growth cleared for 10 feet on each side of highways and private streets used for vehicular traffic, measured from the roadway's flow-line or improved edge. Single ornamental trees, shrubs, and ground covers like ivy are exempt if they don't readily carry fire.

Santa Ana requires smoke detectors 'installed throughout the live/work spaces' of any converted artist live/work building in a C3A zone, under Municipal Code § 8-2701(i), which ties the mandate to California Building Code § 310.9. The rule sits inside a broader alternative fire and life-safety code the city built for adaptive reuse of existing structures.

Wood or solid-fuel fires in Santa Ana yards must sit in a spark-arrested firebox or portable pit at least 3 feet from combustible construction at single-family homes, or 15 feet at other residential occupancies, and can't burn within 25 feet of a building unless inside an approved permanent fireplace.

Santa Ana is a fully urbanized city with no areas designated as Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (VHFHSZ) by CAL FIRE. The city is served by the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) and is not subject to wildland-urban interface fire regulations.

Santa Ana bans outdoor wood or solid-fuel fires whenever sustained winds top 8 mph with humidity under 25%, a red flag warning is declared, or the fire code official posts a ban notice. Any fuel type is off-limits once sustained winds exceed 20 mph.

Santa Ana bans all "dangerous fireworks" outright: manufacture, storage, sale, possession, or discharge. Only "safe and sane" fireworks may be sold, and only by permitted school or nonprofit groups, and only discharged on four days each July around Independence Day.

Santa Ana bans parking oversized, non-motorized, and recreational vehicles on public streets between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., and within 50 feet of any intersection at all times, unless the City Manager posts signs authorizing it or a temporary permit is issued.

Santa Ana declares abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles on private or public property a public nuisance under state Vehicle Code authority. The Planning and Building Agency can order removal after a ten-day notice, with limited exemptions for enclosed storage and licensed dismantlers.

Painting your own curb in Santa Ana is illegal unless the city has authorized it by contract. Municipal Code § 36-148 bars anyone from painting "any public street or curb surfaces" without that authorization: a flat ban that applies even to a homeowner repainting a faded red or yellow zone in front of their own property.

Santa Ana's Public Works Director designates loading zones by curb marking, and Municipal Code § 36-138(c) bars leaving any vehicle, attended or not, parked there longer than the zone's posted time allows. The same section lets the director set up marked parking stalls, bus zones and disabled-parking zones under one unified authority.

Santa Ana's city council creates preferential parking districts by resolution under Municipal Code Article XI, and within those districts a specific block only gets restricted once owners of 66 percent or more of the abutting residential lots petition the public works director. Households get up to three resident permits plus renewable guest passes, and unauthorized vehicles can be towed once warning signs go up.

Santa Ana's Building Department must run a nondiscretionary, expedited permit and inspection process for every electric vehicle charging station in the city, with no carve-out for multi-family or commercial properties. Article XVII of Chapter 8 covers all qualifying equipment, requires a published checklist, allows electronic applications, and mandates timely, consolidated inspections once installation is complete.

Santa Ana caps on-street parking at 72 consecutive hours under Municipal Code § 36-136(b), and separately bars leaving an inoperable vehicle parked more than 12 hours or using a public street as a car lot. Vehicles violating either limit can be towed by the chief of police at the owner's expense.

Santa Ana bans parking any oversized, non-motorized or recreational vehicle on a public street between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., and within 50 feet of an intersection at any time, under Municipal Code § 36-149. Residents can get a temporary permit under § 36-153 for overnight RV parking, capped at three consecutive 24-hour periods and 72 permits per address per year.

In Santa Ana's R1 single-family district, a driveway must lead to a garage and can't be wider than the garage itself or 50% of the lot's street frontage width, whichever is smaller. Parking a vehicle anywhere else in the front yard, outside that driveway, is prohibited under Section 41-239(c).

On Main Street, Broadway, First Street, Bristol Street and several other named corridors, Santa Ana bars parking any vehicle longer than 30 minutes between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. under Municipal Code § 36-144. The same overnight window applies anywhere the city has installed parking meters, with one carved-out exception on Fourth Street.

Santa Ana caps residential fences and walls by location: front yard fences top out at 3 feet on most streets and 4 feet on designated arterials, side and rear walls can reach 8 feet, and outside the RE-through-R4 zones the ceiling rises to 10 feet, dropping back to 4 feet wherever the fence enters a required front yard or landscaped area.

Santa Ana limits front yard fences to specific approved materials: wood, wrought iron, tubular steel, stone, brick, stucco, or decorative block such as slump stone or split-faced block. Spikes, stakes and other sharp metal elements are banned outright, and any arbor built over a front walkway can't exceed 10 feet in height, 6 feet in width or 3 feet in depth.

Santa Ana requires a planning and building agency permit for any front yard fence over 18 inches tall in the RE, R1, R2, R3, and R4 residential zones under § 41-610(b). Approved materials are limited to wood, wrought iron, tubular steel, stone, brick, stucco, or decorative block, and spikes or sharp metal are banned outright.

Santa Ana's zoning code lists animal hospitals and veterinary clinics as a permitted use in the C1 Community Commercial district and the C-SM South Main Street Commercial district, meaning they're allowed by right without a conditional use permit. The same use is absent from residential and most other zone use lists in Chapter 41, so a clinic must sit on C1 or C-SM land to open legally.

Santa Ana caps ownership at three dogs per premises under Section 5-50, with no exceptions built into the code: the section states flatly there 'shall be no exceptions.' A household or property that wants to keep more than three dogs must instead qualify and get inspected as a commercial kennel under Section 5-62.

Santa Ana designates itself a bird sanctuary under Municipal Code Section 5-5 and bans killing or injuring any species of wild bird within city limits, along with damaging or molesting a wild bird's nest or eggs. The animal control officer may also order destruction or control of birds such as starlings when a flock becomes a public nuisance or health menace.

Cats are not licensed in Santa Ana, Section 5-51 levies its license fee on dogs only, but Section 5-14 still requires every owner to confine any animal, cats included, on the owner's own premises. A cat found running at large on a public street or someone else's property is declared a nuisance and subject to seizure and impoundment by the animal control officer.

Santa Ana has no breed-specific ban, § 5-72.1 defines potentially dangerous and vicious dogs entirely by documented biting or attacking behavior, never by breed. An animal services or police officer can tentatively declare a dog dangerous under § 5-72, triggering owner notice, a hearing right, and conditions like $100,000 liability insurance or muzzling.

Santa Ana requires every dog off its owner's property to wear a current license tag and stay on a leash strong enough to hold 40 pounds and no longer than 8 feet. Dogs must otherwise stay confined to a yard or enclosure. A first violation draws a minimum $50 fine, rising to $75 and then $150 for repeat offenses within a year.

Santa Ana follows OC Animal Care policies that strongly encourage spay and neuter, with sharply higher license fees for unaltered dogs. California Food and Agricultural Code section 30503 requires shelters to sterilize dogs and cats before adoption throughout the entire state.

California AB 485 prohibits pet stores statewide from selling dogs, cats, or rabbits unless sourced from a public shelter or registered rescue. Santa Ana retailers must comply, post sourcing signs at each enclosure, and keep paperwork available for inspection by city or state staff.

California Fish and Wildlife requires rehabilitators to hold a state permit before keeping injured native wildlife. Santa Ana residents finding hurt birds or mammals should contact OC Animal Care or a permitted facility rather than attempting to nurse the animal at home.

Santa Ana allows backyard beekeeping on single-family residential lots without a permit, but caps hives at two on lots of 6,000 square feet or less, rising to one hive per 3,000 square feet up to a five-hive maximum on larger parcels. Hives must sit in the rear yard, at least twenty feet from the street and five feet from side property lines.

Santa Ana caps backyard fowl and rabbits at four total per property before a special permit is required, and bans roosters outright on any residential premises. Coops and hutches must sit at least thirty feet from any neighboring residence, and manure or waste must be cleared within forty-eight hours under Sections 5-6 and 5-6.5 of the Municipal Code.

Keeping a wild or exotic animal in Santa Ana requires a permit from the animal control officer under Section 5-8, and no location may hold more than two wild animals over two months old even with a permit. Common pets like chinchillas, hamsters, turtles, and nonpoisonous snakes are exempt, but primates, big cats, bears, and crocodilians are not.

Santa Ana's tree ordinance protects public trees on streets, parkways and public grounds. Topping is banned outright, and no one may post signs, nail, cut, paint or attach wires to a street tree without city authorization. Violations are misdemeanors under the citywide penalty code.

Santa Ana keeps its street trees on a roughly four-and-a-half-year trimming cycle and requires the city to prune any public tree so its limbs don't block a streetlight or intersection view, keeping a clear space of 14 feet above the street or sidewalk. Topping a public tree is banned as a normal practice, and tree-related decisions can be appealed.

Watering a lawn, landscape, or other vegetated area in Santa Ana between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. is a standing, year-round violation under Municipal Code § 39-99(a), enforced with escalating fines and, eventually, a flow restrictor or disconnected service.

Backyard composting is permitted in Santa Ana. SB 1383 requires organic waste diversion. Composting must not create nuisance conditions.

Santa Ana permits artificial turf installation on residential properties as an alternative to natural grass. Under California Government Code Section 4735, HOAs cannot prohibit artificial turf on residential properties. No special city permit is required for turf replacement.

Santa Ana caps weeds, grass, rank growth, and brush at six inches above grade on any lot or private premises. The Public Works Agency posts removal notices, and if the growth isn't cut within the notice period the city can abate it and put the cost on your property tax bill.

Santa Ana requires a home occupation permit from the zoning administrator before anyone runs a business from a residence. Section 41-192.3 sets the application process, filed by the dwelling's occupant with a filing fee set by city council resolution, and lets the administrator approve or deny based on compliance with the operating standards and impact on residential character.

Santa Ana bars home occupations from holding frequent client meetings or gatherings. Section 41-192.2(e) prohibits "any activity which involves frequent meetings or gatherings of any kind such as may generate traffic and parking congestion, noise, or disturbances beyond that which is normal to residential use," naming photo studios, bail bond services and check-cashing operations as examples that violate the rule.

Small family daycare homes serving up to 8 children are permitted by right in all residential zones in Santa Ana under California Health and Safety Code Section 1597.45. Large family daycare homes serving 9-14 children require a use permit from the city.

Santa Ana flatly bans signage for home-based businesses. Section 41-192.2(a) states "there shall be no signs or other devices identifying or advertising the home occupation," meaning a permitted home business must operate with zero exterior signage: no yard sign, window sign, or similar device visible from outside the dwelling.

Santa Ana enforces the California Swimming Pool Safety Act (HSC §115920-115929) requiring all residential pools to have a primary barrier at least 60 inches high plus a secondary barrier. Orange County Ordinance No. 19-006 adds secondary barrier requirements.

Santa Ana requires a building permit from the administrative authority before anyone installs, alters, repairs, replaces, or maintains a swimming pool, spa, or hot tub system under Municipal Code § 8-2608, with only in-kind component replacement exempted. Working without one doubles the eventual permit fee under § 8-2611.

Building a junior accessory dwelling unit (JADU) in Santa Ana comes with a rental catch: Municipal Code Section 41-194.5 requires an owner-occupancy covenant, recorded against the property before the city issues a building permit, stating either the main house or the JADU must be owner-occupied. That blocks renting both units to separate tenants with no owner on-site, a restriction that doesn't apply to full-size ADUs.

Santa Ana's zoning code fixes exact yard setbacks for sheds and other accessory buildings by height and lot type. An interior-lot structure up to 15 feet needs only a 3-foot side and rear yard; taller ones need 5 feet on the side and 10 feet at the rear. Alley-facing garages must clear the alley centerline by 12 feet, and every garage needs 20 feet of driveway clearance from the street.

Santa Ana caps detached ADUs at 20 feet and 1,000 square feet, with 4-foot side, street-side and rear setbacks, under Table 41-194.3 of the zoning code. Attached ADUs generally can't exceed half the primary home's habitable space unless the unit stays under 800 square feet.

Santa Ana lets homeowners convert an existing garage, carport or accessory structure into an ADU under City Code §§ 41-194.2(E) and 41-194.3(C), with up to 150 square feet of expansion exempt from standard ADU development rules. Multi-family properties can convert up to eight detached garages or carports into ADUs.

Santa Ana defines base flood elevation (BFE) as the water surface height shown on the FIRM for a flood with a 1% annual chance of being equaled or exceeded: the 100-year flood. Section 7-17(c)(1) requires the lowest floor of new or substantially improved homes in AE, AH, and A1-30 zones to sit at or above that elevation, with no added freeboard cushion specified.

Santa Ana requires a grading permit under Municipal Code § 8-183, which amends Appendix J, Section J103.2 of the adopted building code. The section lists nine specific exemptions, including grading under 50 cubic yards, well and utility-trench excavations, and shallow fills on gentle slopes, but exemption from the permit never authorizes work that violates any other code or ordinance.

Santa Ana bans illicit connections to the storm drain system and any non-stormwater discharge that isn't specifically exempted. New development must follow the county's Drainage Area Management Plan, and violations are treated as a public nuisance enforceable through compliance orders, injunctions, and civil damages.

Any construction or development, including manufactured homes, inside a Santa Ana special flood hazard area needs a development permit under § 7-15 before work starts. Applicants must submit scaled plans showing elevations, utilities, grading, floodway location, and base flood elevation data to the floodplain administrator.

Santa Ana bars a commercial cannabis retail business from operating within 500 feet of another retail cannabis business, or within 1,000 feet of any K-12 school, park, or residential zoning district, measured under Municipal Code § 40-6.

Cannabis can be delivered to Santa Ana adults 21 and over by any state-licensed delivery operator, but local retailers must hold a Santa Ana Regulatory Safety Permit to dispatch from inside the city.

Adults 21 and over in Santa Ana may cultivate up to six cannabis plants per private residence under California Proposition 64, but Santa Ana requires indoor cultivation only.

Santa Ana bans commercial cannabis activity in every zoning district by default, then carves out an exception under Municipal Code § 40-5 for specific businesses in the Light Industrial, Heavy Industrial, and select Specific Development/Professional zones shown on the city's Commercial Cannabis Eligible Areas Map.

Under California Proposition 64 and Health & Safety Code Section 11362.2, adults 21 and older may cultivate up to six cannabis plants per household for personal use. Plants must be grown in a locked space not visible from a public place. Santa Ana may enforce local zoning rules regarding where cultivation occurs, but cannot prohibit indoor personal cultivation under state law.

Santa Ana's Building Department must administratively approve any residential solar energy system application that meets its standard checklist under Municipal Code § 8-2511, without discretionary review, and limit inspection to a single site visit for systems eligible for expedited review: implementing the state's expedited solar permitting mandate.

Santa Ana requires building permits for solar panel installations per the California Solar Permitting Act (AB 2188). The city must offer a streamlined, ministerial permitting process for small residential rooftop solar systems of 10 kW or less. Permit applications for qualifying systems must be reviewed and approved within the same business day when complete.

California's Solar Rights Act (Civil Code §714) prohibits HOAs from effectively banning solar installations. HOAs cannot impose restrictions that increase the cost of a solar system by more than $1,000 or decrease its efficiency by more than 10%. The Solar Shade Control Act also protects existing solar installations from shading by new vegetation on neighboring properties.

Santa Ana lets one freestanding freeway sign reach 35 feet and 100 square feet -- nearly triple the normal citywide cap -- but only within 300 feet of a freeway exit centerline, oriented to freeway traffic, and limited to identifying a restaurant, service station or lodging establishment. All other freestanding signs top out much lower under the standard frontage table.

Santa Ana allows new digital billboards only inside a 300-foot-wide Freeway Corridor along I-5, SR-22 and SR-55, capped at 60 feet tall, spaced 1,000 feet apart, and set back at least 500 feet from residential zoning. Every one needs a Conditional Use Permit, a Development Project Plan and a City Manager-approved Operating Agreement before construction.

Santa Ana bans garage sale signs on telephone poles, streetlights, traffic signs, and any other structure in the public right-of-way under City Code § 41-193(5). Signs may go up no earlier than one week before the sale's first day and must come down within one day after the sale ends.

Santa Ana caps weeds, grass, and rank growth at six inches under Municipal Code § 16-48, the 'Garbage, Rubbish and Weed Control Ordinance', applying to any lot, improved or vacant, citywide. The public works director posts a seven-day removal notice before the city abates the growth itself and assesses the cost as a lien on the parcel.

Santa Ana's building official can declare any residential building or premises a public nuisance under Municipal Code § 8-1951 when hazardous walls, fences, broken driveways, or improperly stored patios exist, then abate the condition by repair, demolition, or removal through the Chapter 17 process. Owners get a 10-day window to request a hearing before the city acts and assesses costs as a property lien.

Santa Ana caps every digital billboard's brightness at 0.3 foot-candles over ambient light and requires a photocell or light sensor to auto-adjust it -- manual timer- or calendar-based dimming is allowed only as a backup. The rule sits in the billboard-specific lighting article, separate from the city's on-premise electronic sign standards, and applies citywide.

Electronic message displays approved through Santa Ana's Regional Planned Sign Program can't sit within 300 feet of residential property and must be oriented to minimize light spilling onto homes while still reading from the freeway. The same 0.3 foot-candle brightness cap and automatic-dimming duty that governs freeway billboards applies here too, under Section 41-885(e).

Santa Ana law requires every rental housing owner to keep the unit and property free of 'substandard conditions': nuisances, deterioration that hurts neighboring property values, code violations, or anything out of compliance with the adopted Building, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical or Fire Codes or the State Housing Law. Owners must fix cited conditions before any re-inspection clears the property.

Santa Ana caps annual rent increases on covered residential units and mobilehome spaces at 3%, or 80% of the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less, and allows only one increase per 12-month period. The city announces the year's allowable percentage by June 30, effective every September 1.

Every Santa Ana rent-increase notice must tell tenants the Rent Stabilization Ordinance exists and spell out their right to respond to any Fair Return or Capital Improvement Petition the landlord has filed. Sec. 8-3149 requires this same disclosure again at the start of every tenancy, and no increase takes effect until it's satisfied.

California AB 1482 (Tenant Protection Act of 2019) requires landlords statewide to give tenants a written notice describing the law's rent cap and just-cause rules. Santa Ana enforces local protections that are often stronger.

Once a Santa Ana tenant has lawfully occupied a unit for 30 straight days, the landlord can't end the tenancy without just cause stated in the written termination notice. Sec. 8-3120 defines just cause as either an at-fault violation, like nonpayment of rent, or specific no-fault grounds like owner move-in or a required demolition.

Santa Ana bans dumping trash, garbage, refuse or other filth on any public or private alley, street, watercourse or property anywhere in the city except where the council has designated. Violating the littering ordinance is a misdemeanor under Section 16-6, and the city separately treats the dumped material as a public nuisance it can abate under Section 18-1.

The executive director of public works sets each address's curbside collection day in Santa Ana, and single-family and multifamily accounts must subscribe to weekly three-container gray, blue and green cart service. A resident who disagrees with a schedule or service determination can appeal to the city manager.

Santa Ana single-family households must subscribe to weekly three-container service and route food scraps and yard trimmings into the green organic-waste cart, keeping them out of the gray trash cart. Contaminating a cart with the wrong material draws a cart-tag warning and escalating fines up to $500 under the city's local SB 1383 implementing ordinance.

Commercial and multifamily properties with five or more units that hire a gardening or landscaping service must put diversion requirements in the written contract: the landscaper has to divert all yard waste from disposal, certify compliance, and supply weight tickets from a permitted processing facility on request.

Every commercial and industrial property in Santa Ana, along with residential developments of three or more units, must screen its dumpsters in a dedicated enclosure sized to serve the site. Section 41-623 requires that enclosure to be screened from streets, alleys and neighboring property, and sets a minimum 300-square-foot trash and loading area with no dimension under 10 feet.

Santa Ana's own contractor holds the exclusive right to collect, transport and dispose of all solid waste generated in the city, and once waste is set out for collection it becomes the contractor's property. Anyone else who collects, hauls or pays someone else to haul trash outside the narrow exceptions the code allows commits a misdemeanor under Section 16-30(h).

Santa Ana requires residential and commercial recycling under California's mandatory recycling laws including AB 341 and SB 1383. Residents must separate recyclable materials from trash and use the provided recycling container. SB 1383 further requires separation of organic waste including food scraps and yard waste to reduce methane emissions from landfills.

Santa Ana requires curbside trash to go out in the city's official carts, placed in the street with the wheels touching the curb, or along an alley open at both ends. Loose piles left at the curb without a cart won't be picked up by the city's solid waste contractor, and single-family homes with fewer than three units must subscribe to cart service rather than bin service.

Santa Ana's solid waste ordinance defines bulky items, furniture, mattresses, major appliances, up to 30-gallon bags of green waste and electronics, as material too large for a cart, capped at eight feet long, four feet wide or 150 pounds, and removable by no more than two people. Section 16-31 exempts properly placed bulky items from the usual cart-only collection rule.

Santa Ana pushcart vendors can't set up within 50 feet of another cart, 200 feet of a school or church, 500 feet of the Santa Ana Zoo boundary, or 10 feet of an intersection, driveway or parking space. Carts outside the Civic Center and Downtown Districts must keep moving except while making a sale, and hours run 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. standard time.

Santa Ana requires a police-department owner's permit and a separate operator's permit for every pushcart vending food or beverages on city streets and sidewalks, and layers on strict location, hours, and size rules that go well beyond a basic business license.

Santa Ana requires an administrative permit from the Planning and Building Agency before any mobile food truck can operate on private property, issued only to an operator holding both a city business license and a health permit from the Orange County Health Care Agency. Permits renew annually, and trucks are limited to commercial, industrial, or mixed-use zoned lots along arterial streets.

Santa Ana requires anyone going door to door selling goods, taking orders, or soliciting opinions or endorsements to hold a peddler's or solicitor's license before starting. The requirement applies to residents and non-residents alike and is enforced through the city's Business License Tax Code, not a free-speech permit scheme.

Santa Ana bars minors from public places and businesses between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. under Sections 10-181 through 10-187. Eleven listed defenses cover errands, work, emergencies, and accompanied minors; a willful violation is an infraction punishable by up to a $250 fine or equivalent community service.

A single-family home in Santa Ana's R1 district can't rise higher than 27 feet or exceed two stories, measured from the lowest adjacent grade to the top of the structure. Planned developments follow the same cap under Section 41-357(b), which imposes no separate height limit of its own for PD projects.

Santa Ana's R1 single-family zone requires a front yard equal to the block's prevailing setback but never less than 20 feet, side yards of at least 5 feet (10 feet on a corner lot's street side), and a rear yard of at least 20 feet, though the rear setback doesn't apply to permitted accessory dwelling units.

Multifamily residential development processed under Santa Ana's Planned Community Development (PCD) provisions is capped at fifty percent lot coverage under Section 41-575. Buildings, driveways, parking areas and covered patios together may take up no more than half the site; the remaining half must stay open as landscaping, recreation space or walkways, keeping density in check.

Santa Ana's urban forest ordinance limits parkway and street tree planting to an official species list set by category, with any other species needing sign-off from the environmental and transportation advisory committee. Spacing must follow the Public Works Agency Standard Plan Code Book, and new development must include street trees reviewed and approved on the project's site plan.

Garage sale activity in Santa Ana is confined to 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. under City Code § 41-193(2), and subsection (3) bars conducting the sale on public sidewalks, parkways, streets or alleys. Setting up before 8 a.m. or spilling merchandise onto the sidewalk both violate the section independently.

Before Santa Ana approves a final map for a condominium or planned-unit project, the recorded CC&Rs must give the city itself, not just the homeowners association, power to enforce common-area maintenance and the ban on trailer, boat and RV storage, and the city council must consent before those provisions can be amended or dropped.

When an apartment building converts to condominiums in Santa Ana, the city withholds approval until the developer files a management plan whose draft CC&Rs spell out project governance: including the homeowners association board of directors' duties, powers, election process and replacement procedure.

Santa Ana HOA architectural review is governed by CA Civil Code Sec. 4765, with a 60-day review deadline and state preemptions protecting solar, native plants, and EV chargers.

Santa Ana HOA disputes follow the Davis-Stirling Act framework requiring IDR and ADR before court action. AB 130 caps most fines at $100 per violation.

Santa Ana requires a permit before anyone shoots a commercial motion picture or video tape on property the city owns or controls. Applicants apply to the city manager at least fifteen days before the shoot, pay a nonrefundable application fee, and must carry at least $1,000,000 in liability insurance naming the city as additional insured. Personal and news-gathering filming are exempt.

No building or structure in Santa Ana may be erected, altered, repaired, moved, or have its occupancy changed without a separate permit for each structure from the building official. Sec. 8-94 sets that baseline, and Sec. 8-96 voids any application left unresolved for 180 days.

Any Santa Ana commercial building activity that needs a building permit must meet the deadbolt and hardware specs in Municipal Code § 8-211. Swinging exterior doors need a single- or double-cylinder deadbolt with at least a 1-inch bolt throw, a five-pin cylinder with a guard, and a locked indicator, mounted 30 to 44 inches above the floor.

Santa Ana adopts the California Electrical Code, 2025 Edition, plus its Informative Annex A on product safety standards, as the city electrical code under Municipal Code § 8-667. A copy is kept on file with the city clerk under Health and Safety Code § 18942(d)(1), and only a licensed contractor or an owner performing their own work may obtain an electrical permit.

Before a Santa Ana building can be occupied, the owner or occupant must apply to the building official for an inspection and pay a nonrefundable processing fee plus an inspection fee. Section 111.6, added locally at Sec. 8-115, makes the inspection request the applicant's responsibility, not something the city initiates on its own.

Santa Ana's local Fire Code amendment at § 8-102 requires automatic sprinklers in any new building exceeding 5,000 square feet or more than two stories, regardless of fire area, and in existing buildings adding 33% or more floor area, over 2,000 square feet, or an added story above the second floor.

Santa Ana enforces the California Green Building Standards Code, 2025 Edition, as its own law under Municipal Code § 8-2900, incorporating CALGreen by reference through the city Charter's code-adoption procedure rather than writing separate local green-building numbers. Six ordinances since 2010 have kept the adopted edition current with each statewide code cycle.

Santa Ana adopts the California Plumbing Code, 2025 Edition, including Appendices A, B, D, I and J, as its local plumbing code under Municipal Code § 8-290. The adopted code, together with the city's own amendments, governs permits for all plumbing work, and only a licensed contractor, the contractor's representative, or the property owner may pull the permit.

Santa Ana bars anyone from holding a parade on city streets without a permit. Applicants file with the city manager between 180 and 30 days ahead, pay a nonrefundable fee to the police department, and the city manager must make seven specific findings on traffic, safety and policing before issuing the permit. Violating the chapter or a permit's terms is a misdemeanor.

Santa Ana treats a block party as a 'special event' under Sec. 10-22, so organizers need a permit under Sec. 10-22.1 before closing a street for a neighborhood gathering. Applications go to the city manager 180 to 30 days ahead, require signatures from at least 80 percent of affected residents and businesses, and the event must meet six safety findings before it's approved.

Santa Ana requires a permit before holding a picnic, outing or gathering of forty or more people in any city park, along with performances, public meetings, parades and any exclusive use of a park facility. The recreation and parks director must issue the permit unless specific findings under Sec. 31-3.1 apply, and denials or conditions can be appealed to the city manager.

Restaurants that want to set up outdoor dining on a Santa Ana street or sidewalk need a license under the city's Outdoor Dining Ordinance, Sec. 33-171, available only in the Midtown, Downtown and Museum Districts. Each location needs its own numbered license, capped at one per site absent a public works finding of extra need, plus a one-time application fee and annual renewal fee.

Anyone excavating in a Santa Ana street, alley or sidewalk to install, repair or remove a pipe, conduit, utility pole or similar facility must first get an excavation permit from the public works director under Sec. 33-30. The application must include insurance, a traffic control plan and proof of a city business license, and the permit expires if work doesn't start within thirty working days.

Property owners in Santa Ana must maintain adjacent sidewalks under CA Streets and Highways Code 5610. Any sidewalk repair in the public right-of-way requires an encroachment permit from the Public Works Agency.

Santa Ana bars and nightclubs offering amplified music must hold an entertainment permit and keep music and noise inaudible beyond 20 feet from the exterior of the premises in any direction, per Municipal Code Sec. 11-7. Venues adding dancing face heavier security and crowd-control conditions under Category 3.

Santa Ana inspects every residential rental property at least once every four years under the Proactive Rental Enforcement Program (PREP). The Executive Director sets each property's inspection level, exterior-only, partial interior, or full interior, and owners pay an annual, non-proratable inspection fee to fund the citywide sweep for Chapter 8 substandard-condition violations.

California Business and Professions Code 22958 sets the legal age to buy tobacco, vape, and nicotine products at 21 statewide, and Santa Ana retailers must check ID for any buyer under 30.

California Senate Bill 793 prohibits Santa Ana retailers from selling most flavored tobacco products including menthol cigarettes, flavored vapes, and flavored cigars.

California Assembly Bill 1884 prevents Santa Ana full-service restaurants from giving customers single-use plastic straws unless the customer specifically requests one.

Santa Ana's A1 general agricultural district permits crop farming, grazing and small animal farms by right, but bans hog and commercial livestock feeding ranches and garbage-disposal farms outright. A single-family home is allowed at one unit per 6,000 square feet on lots of a half-acre or less, and roadside produce stands are capped at 100 square feet.

Santa Ana Municipal Code Article VIII bans camping, occupying camp facilities, or storing personal property, tents, bedding, shopping carts, in the Civic Center, medians, and other public places citywide. Section 10-404 makes a violation an infraction or misdemeanor, with civil, administrative, and immediate nuisance-abatement remedies available.

Santa Ana bans sitting, lying, sleeping, or storing property on public property within set buffer zones: 20 feet of driveways, ramps, loading docks, and fire hydrants, 50 feet of business entrances, and 200 feet of any school or day care center. Violators face an infraction or misdemeanor under Section 10-100, plus civil or administrative penalties.

Santa Ana names "data center uses" as a conditional use in its M1 (Light Industrial) district under Municipal Code Sec. 41-472.5(r), added by Ordinance No. NS-3038 in 2023. A Planning Commission conditional use permit and CEQA review are required, and the same rule reaches the M2 district.

Santa Ana has no data-center-specific noise rule, but Municipal Code Sec. 18-312 caps exterior noise reaching any residential property at 55 dB(A) daytime (7 a.m.–10 p.m.) and 50 dB(A) at night (10 p.m.–7 a.m.). A data center's cooling equipment and generators must meet these limits.

Once city water crosses the meter, Santa Ana Municipal Code § 39-21 puts every pipe, fixture, and leak on the customer's side back on the customer: they must keep those facilities in good order and pay to locate and repair leaks themselves, and the city won't credit a bill for water lost past the meter.

Santa Ana resells Orange County Water District recycled water to users inside city limits under Municipal Code § 39-32, but delivery depends on OCWD's Green Acres Project staying operational, and any user who gets a recycled connection must use it only on their own property and can never resell it.

Santa Ana implements California Government Code Section 65915 density-bonus law, allowing developers extra units, parking concessions, and waivers in exchange for restricted affordable housing units.

Santa Ana bans syringe exchange programs outright. City Code § 18-654 prohibits operating one anywhere in the city on public or private property, in every zoning district, and the city cannot issue a use permit, variance, or license for one. Violating the ban is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.

Anyone preparing, storing, or serving food at a Santa Ana restaurant must hold a California Food Handler Card, obtained within 30 days of hire and renewed every three years.

California Civil Code 1954.603 requires Santa Ana landlords to give every tenant a bed bug information notice and prohibits renting any unit known to have an active infestation.

Santa Ana taxes hotel occupancy at eleven percent of the rent charged, collected by the operator from every guest staying under thirty days and remitted monthly to the finance director under the city's Hotel Visitors Tax Ordinance, formerly called the transient occupancy tax.

Santa Ana protects historic buildings by placing them on the city register of historical properties. The Historic Resources Commission designates eligible properties by resolution after a noticed public hearing, sorting each into a Landmark, Key or Contributive category. Listing triggers a 240-day demolition review, ties into the state historical building code, and can be appealed to the city council within ten calendar days.

Santa Ana requires every tobacco retailer, including e-cigarette and vapor product sellers, to hold a Police Department-issued license at a fixed business location. Selling flavored tobacco is banned outright, and repeat violations escalate from a 60-day suspension to permanent revocation with a five-year re-application bar.

Secondhand dealers in Santa Ana, anyone meeting the state definition in Business and Professions Code § 21626, need the same police-issued certificate as pawnbrokers, must log every transaction in detail, report it to police the next day, and may only buy, trade or sell used goods between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.

Tow operators who want police-dispatched tows in Santa Ana must qualify for the police department's rotational tow list under Sec. 32-107, which lets the chief of police set binding standards for getting on, staying on, and being removed from the list. Operators towing from private property must also ensure police are notified before the tow under state Vehicle Code Section 22658.

Santa Ana confines adult entertainment businesses to six commercial/industrial zones and requires a ministerial land use permit before any can open, plus 1,000-foot separation from other adult businesses, bars, dance halls, massage parlors and peep shows, and from homes, parks, schools and daycares. A 125-foot buffer from freeways and arterials applies too.

Santa Ana keeps tattoo and body art establishments in the C-1, C-2 and C-4 zones at least 500 feet from any K-12 school or public park and 500 feet from another tattoo or body art shop. Shops can't operate between midnight and 7 a.m., can't allow live animals except service animals, and must comply with the state Safe Body Art Act.

Anyone wanting to run a pawnshop in Santa Ana must first apply in writing to the Chief of Police, disclosing personal history, business address and employees, and submitting to fingerprinting and photographs. The chief can refuse or revoke the certificate for a material misstatement or a disqualifying conviction, and no one may operate, or work there, without it.

Santa Ana limits full massage establishments to six commercial zones plus a Conditional Use Permit, 1,000-foot spacing from other massage businesses and a 500-foot residential buffer. Operators also need a police-issued massage establishment permit, a business license and a certificate of occupancy, and cannot operate between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.

Santa Ana Municipal Code Section 10-96 bars loitering, standing, sitting, or lying on a public street, sidewalk, curb, or walkway after a law-enforcement warning if it hinders pedestrian or vehicle passage. Private property open to the public triggers the same ban once posted with a warning sign; violators risk a misdemeanor under the code.

Santa Ana bars aggressive or intrusive solicitation anywhere in public, plus any solicitation within 30 feet of a bank, ATM, transit stop, or shopping-center driveway, or inside an outdoor dining area, under Sections 10-700 through 10-703. A violation is an infraction or misdemeanor at the officer's discretion.

Santa Ana doesn't ban crossing outside a crosswalk citywide. Municipal Code § 36-117 only makes it illegal where the city has posted signs telling pedestrians to use a crosswalk. The Director of Public Works decides which intersections get those signs based on pedestrian-safety need, so enforcement is location-specific, not automatic.

Santa Ana's traffic code bars skateboards from any roadway or bicycle lane and prohibits riding one on a sidewalk inside a designated business district. Outside those business districts, skateboarders on sidewalks must yield to pedestrians. Skate parks run on a separate fine schedule. Violators face the code's general misdemeanor penalty of up to $1,000 and six months in jail.

Santa Ana bills the person responsible for a large private-property party a police services fee, capped at $500 per incident, once officers must return after an initial warning under Sections 10-300 through 10-305. Minors' parents or guardians share liability, and the City can bill for actual costs above $500 through other legal remedies.

Santa Ana bans drinking any alcoholic beverage on a street, in a park, inside an automobile or in any other public place within the city. The only exception is inside an establishment or business properly licensed to sell alcohol for on-site consumption under the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control Act. Enforcement falls to the police department under the citywide penalty scheme.

Santa Ana makes it unlawful to urinate or defecate on private property in view of the public, or on any public street, sidewalk, alley, park or other public place, unless it's inside a public restroom. The rule has stood since a 1978 ordinance and carries the citywide misdemeanor penalty when no restroom is used.

Santa Ana bans smoking outright in every city building, park, stadium and zoo under Sec. 18-40. The prohibition covers lighted pipes, cigars and cigarettes as defined in Sec. 18-39, with narrow carve-outs for open-air entryways, courtyards, balconies and parking structures. Violating the ban is a state Penal Code infraction, and the city must post 'No Smoking' signage wherever the rule applies.

Santa Ana's tax collector, not the business owner, decides which license-tax category a business falls into. The collector keeps a public master list of specific businesses assigned to each general category, and any business that disagrees with its assigned class can demand a hearing under Municipal Code Sec. 21-41.

Santa Ana outlaws running any house, room, apartment or place used as a gambling house, or where cards, dice or similar devices are used to play for merchandise, property or anything of value. The only carve-out is for games covered by Penal Code Section 330, the state's authorized-gambling exemption, so there's no local licensing path for a private card room.